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WASHINGTON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HENRY LAND.ES, State Geologist BULLETIN No. 11 The Mineral Resources of Washington WITH ST A TISTICS FOR 1912 By HENRY LANDES • OLYltPl'.A, WASB. P'UNlt M. LAMBORN ~ PuBLIC PRINTER , 1914 -567, 3 #-:J.7~ 71.o, I I c.3 BOARD OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Governor En.NEST LISTER, Chairman. Lieutenant Governor Louis F. HART. State Treasurer EDWARD MEATR, Secretary. President T. F. KANE. President E. A. BRYAN. HENRY L ANDES, State Geo'logist. 3 092 05 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Goverrwr Ernest Lister, Chairmarn, and Memhers of the Board of Geological Survey: GENTLEMEN : I have the honor to submit herewith a report entitled "The Mineral Resources of Washington, with Statistics for 19U," with the recommendation that it be printed as Bul letin No. 11 of the Survey reports. It is planned that this shall constitute the first of a series of annual reports dealing with the output of minerals and rocks that are of economic im portance. In future bulletins it is expected that the various materials in turn will be more fully described, especially as to geological occurrence, methods of mining or of utilization, and value. In this report the statistics for the years 1911 and 19U were obtained by the State Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey, but for all years previous to 1911 the statistics were secured by the latter organi zation alone. HENRY LANDES, State Geologist. University Station, Seattle, F ebruary 1, 1914. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page GRANITE QuABBIES . • . 7 SANDST01'~ QUA1UUES . 10 Lr.ME Kn.Na . • . • . 13 BASALT QuABRI.Es • • • • . • . • . • • . • . • . • . • . • . • . 16 SAND AND GB.A VEL PITS . • . • . 20 COAL MINING . • . • . • • . • . • . • . • . 24 CLAY PLANTS . 29 CEMENT INDUSTRY . • . • • . • • • • . • • • • • • • . • . • . • . • • . • . • • • • . • • . • • . • . 35 METAL MINING • . 39 MlNERAx. WAT.EBB • . 49 ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE I. Map of Washington, showing location ot Mines, Quarries, Ltmekilns, Clay and Cement Plants, and other Mineral In- dustries .................................................Pocket GRANITE QUARRIES. GENERAL OCCURRENCES Oil' GRANITE. Granite occurs -very abundantly in Spokane, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan, Chelan, Whatcom, Skagit, Snoho mish and King counties. In these counties granite is usually found in broad areas rather than in detached outcrops. Small isolated occunences of granite are noted in the basalt plateau of southeastern Washington, where erosion has removed the overlying rock. Instances of this are found along Snake River at several points. In the Cascades, granite is a common rock north of Snoqualmie Pass, but occurs very infrequently south of that point. It does not occm at all, except as glacial bould ers, in the immediate vicinity of the Puget Sound basin, in the Olympic Mountains, or in the southwestern put of the state. Much of the stone is a true granite, but both granodiorite and syenite are quarried and sold under the name of granite. QUARRY LOCALITIES. Granite quarries have been opened up at several localities where a good quality of stone could be secured, on easy lines of transportation, and convenient to markets. Three quarries are in operation along the Great Northern Railway, in the vicinity of Index, Halford, and Baring. The rock is a granodior:ite in which the feldspars have a pinkish tinge, giving a pleasing color effect. The material from the Great Northern quarry at Hal ford has been used almost entirely in the construction of the sea-wall from Everett to Seattle. The stone from the other quarries at Index and Baring is sold in Seattle and other cities on Puget Sound. Spokane is another center of granite quarrying. Outcrops of this rock occur at many places east, west and north of the city. At the present time three quarries are in operation in the vicinity of Medical Lake, about 16 miles southwest of Spokane. Two quarries, located near together, are operated at a locality U miles north of Spokane and a third about six miles to the southeast of the city. For some years a quarry was operated at Wawawai, OE the 8 Bulletin No. 11, Washington Geological Survey Snake River, in Whitman County, at a. point about 14 miles from Pullman. The granite outcrops along the stream bank, convenient for transportation either by water or by rail. The chief market for the stone was in Portland. In late yea.rs the quarry has been inactive. Near Electron, in Pierce County, the County Commission ers operated a quarry for some years, using the syenite therein obtained as crushed rock for road building. GRANITE• QUARRIES NOW OR RECJiJNTLY IN OPl!>RaTION. Baring Granite Works, Ba.ring, King County. Pierce County Quarry, Electron, Pierce County. Great Northern Railway Co., Halford, Snohomish County. Index Granite Works, Index, Snohomish County. Giles Granite Quarry, "Medical Lake, Spokane County. Medical Lake Granite Quarry, Medical Lake, Spokane County. Washington Monumental & Cut Stone Co., Silver Lake, Spokane County. Culver and Merwin, Ul miles north of Spokane, Spokane County. Ea.st End Granite Quarry, 6 miles southeast of Spokane, Spokane County. Washington Mk>numental and Cut Stone Co., rn miles north of Spokane, Spokane County. USES OF GRANITE. The chief markets for Washington granite are in the grow ing cities, where the stone is used for street improvements and for building purposes. Of the stone quarried at Baring in 19U, 44 per cent. by value was sold for cw·bing; SS per cent. was dressed for building purposes; 16 per cent. was made into paving blocks; and 7 per cent. was sold for monumental work. At the Index Granite Works over one-half the stone in value, in 19U, was dressed and sold for building purposes; about one-fourth was made into curbing, and the remainder was sold for paving blocks, monumental work, flagging, building pur- •Includes granodlorite and syenite, as well as true granite. ) The M·im.eraZ Resources of W asMngto,n 9 poses, etc. The entire output for 19Hl of the Great Northern Railway quarry at Halford was rubble, which was used wholly by the company. The quarries near Spokane sell th.e larger part of their granite for monumental purposes. A smaller portion is used in buildings, as well as for paving blocks and cul'bing. Of the rock quarried in 19m at Electron, in Pierce County, substan tially all of it was used for macadamizing on the public roads, although a very small amount was used as ripl'ap. VALUE OF GRANITE• QUARRlElO FROM 1901 TO 1912. 1901. .. .. $43,808 1907 ............ $662,362 1902 ............ 147,273 1908 ............ 870,944 1903............ 209,095 1909............ 742,878 1904. .. .. 422,608 1910. .. .. .. 642,992 1906 ............ 681,730 1911 ............ 377,443 1906............ 469,975 1912............ 119,745 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY. The granite industry of W asbington will doubtless increase in importance as the population multiplies, especially as the cities grow in number and expand in size. There is no question but what the increased use of cement has interfered somewhat with the normal growing demand for granite, but the latter stone has certain uses for which concrete is not accepted as a substitute. Th.e fact that the value of the granite quarried in the state has increased four-fold in the last ten years is a rea sonably sure indication of the continued development of the industry. There is an abundance of granite of good quality easily ac cessible so far as transportation is concerned. At many places quarries may be developed convenient to markets and readily supplied with shipping facilities. This is particularly true along both the Great Northern and Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railways within the Cascade Mountains, and at several localities about Spokane. *From 1901 to 1910, inclusive, under granite is included, not only true granite, but basalt, andeslte, diabase, syenlte, granodiorite, and quartzite. For the yea.rs 1911 and 1912, the basalt production is not included under granite. 10 Bulletin No. 11, Washington Geological Survey SANDSTONE QUARRIES. GENERAL OCCURRIDNCES OF SA..",DSTONE. The larger areas of sandstone are found between the west ern foothills of the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This rock also occurs within and fo the eastward of the Cas cades in more or less isolated localities. In the broad areas of southwestern Washington the sandstones are usually associated with shales, but sometimes with igneous rocks, mainly basalt. The bed-rock formations of this part of the state belong to the T ertiary age and represent both marine and brackish water sediments. ' The sandstones of the northweste1·n part of Washington, to the eastward of the Puget Sound depression, as about Bel lingham, belong to the Eocene time and represent sediments laid down in an ancient lake. The same thing is true of the extensive sandstone formations about Roslyn and Clealum in Kittitas County, and between Leavenworth and Wenatchee in Chelan County. In the lower Yakima valley the sandstones that outcrop on the flanks of many of the ridges belong to middle T ertiary time and also represent beds of sediments laid down in large fresh water bodies. At several places in Stevens, Ferry and Okanogan counties, small areas of sandstones have been found and in some instances the rock is being utilized. Not infrequently in the more mountainous parts of the state the sandstones have been so thoroughly indurated or hardened that they are now in the condition of quartzite. QUARRY LOCALITIES. Sandstone quanies have been operated in Washington for many years. The quarries have been located as near as possible to the markets and where the cheapest transportation was avail able. The principal localities in production have been the quarries on Chuckanut Bay, near Bellingham, and those at Tenino. The Chuckanut quarry was not in operation m 19U, but two of the Tenino quarries were producers throughout that year.